The United States and Japan will step up their defence cooperation to deal with the threat from nuclear-armed North Korea as tensions in East Asia remain high, officials from the two allies said on Thursday.

Sea Shepherd loses appeal for tax credits

Anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd Australia has lost a court bid to allow it to receive tax-deductible donations.

The non-profit group lost an appeal in the Federal Court on Wednesday in its effort to receive the charitable tax credits.

Sea Shepherd argued its campaigns to protect whales being hunted or killed by humans provide "short-term direct care" to animals - a definition that must be satisfied for the organisation to be able to receive tax-deductible donations.

But the Federal Court disagreed and rejected the appeal.

"What Sea Shepherd attempts to do is to prevent the killing of whales," the court sitting in Adelaide and beamed via videolink in Melbourne, said in its judgement.

"The object of its campaigns is the Japanese whaling fleet. It does not provide care to any animal."

The anti-whalers applied to the Commissioner of Taxation in 2010 for endorsement to receive tax deductible donations, but the commissioner refused.